The Wall Street Journal, is reporting that Google is working on its own Android-powered gaming console and smartwatch — as a bonus it is also rumored that Google has not given up on its 2011 failed Nexus Q. According to the report, the chaps at Mountain View hope to ship at least one of the products later this year, and plans to both design and market them itself. Recently we have seen Android kick-starter projects like Ouya receiving a enormous amount of attention and according to the Journal‘s sources Google’s move to create a console is also based on expectations that Apple will add gaming to a future version of the Apple TV.
Also Google is rumored to be concentrating on low cost Android phones in their next iteration of Android. This will be in direct competition with the likes of the firefox OS which is primarily targeted for low end markets. The Journal, further says that expanding Android’s reach across multiple product types is a big part of Google’s plans. In a twist of events, HP is named as one hardware partner that is working on a new laptop that will run the next version of Android, internally named “K release” (our own sources have indicated the shipping name will be Key Lime Pie). The Journal reports that the Android-powered laptop is intended to be a direct competitor to Windows computers.
This week we saw Sony announcing the SmartWatch 2, and both Apple and Samsung are said to be working on wearable devices of their own. We expect the new version of Android to be released later this year.
